Xanata
Xanata, born''' Asha Drexel', was a bounty hunter in the Clone Wars. She was born on Felucia, in 36 BBY, to Anja and Kyp Drexel, and had three older sisters, Payton, Di and Leia, and a younger brother, Kit. She had eccentric blue eyes and reddish-brown hair. Xanata, nicknamed "Xani" by her friends, was an excellent sniper, skilled with a bow and arrow, and trained in the weapon of the Jedi, the lightsaber. Birth and Leia's Leave of Absence In 36 BBY, Anja Drexel gave birth to her fourth daughter, Asha. Asha already had three older sisters: Leia, twelve, Di, ten, and Payton, five. The family had an anooba, Skreech, and a convor, Aedalus. The first four years of Asha's life were probably the best she would ever have. When Asha was almost five, Anja gave birth to her final child, Kit, the first boy in a house of four girls, Asha was ecsatic. Who wasn't happy, though, was Leia, now almost sixteen, who thought she had too many siblings already. But Asha was too young to think that way, and she, Payton and Di had lots of fun playing with their newborn brother. As for Anja and Kyp, their parents, they loved their children all equally. But when Leia, fed up by her parents telling her what to do, left the house at age seventeen, they were heartbroken, and so was Asha, who was only five. Di, Payton, Anja, Kyp and even Kit, Skreech and Aedalus, all mourned her deeply, for they had no idea where Leia had gone. Teen Years Asha attended school until sixteen. Then she decided to follow in Leia's steps. Fed up with her family, Asha told no one except Kit what she was doing. Di was beyond caring. She would have told Payton, but Payton was away for schooling. She told Kit and he promised not to tell. So she packed her bag, gave Kit one last hug and was gone. A young red-haired girl travelling through Felucia on foot, she would have been easy to pity. But anyone who ran into her seeking to lure her thought again. This was proved on the third day of her voyage, when she stepped into a spaceport. Immediatly, a group of pirates noticed her and began advancing on her. Asha knew they were there, she could hear their heavy footsteps, and she sped up walking down the deserted alley. She passed two drunk men who threw glasses at her, but Asha ducked them and they smashed on the building's side. Soon she reached a dead end. The first pirate, a human, obviously drunk, Asha could tell by his slurred speech, advanced on her. She held up her fists and he laughed, a high-pitched, out-of-control cackle that made Asha's blood run cold and the hair on her neck stand up, her spine tingled. But he kept coming, and she ducked under his outstretched hand and swept her leg across his boots and he fell, cursing. She kicked him hard in the head and he went under. There were five pirates left now. Asha took up her fists again and punched the next one in the jaw. He dropped like a stone on top of the first pirate. She quickly took care of the next three and the third one, not much older than herself, turned and ran screaming down the street. It didn't sound much like a boy's scream. Asha watched the figure until it tripped and fell. She raised her eyebrows and smirked. Then she climbed up the wall with surprising agility and stood above all the ships around her. None caught her eye. Her only move was to go into the cantina and find a pilot willing to take her off Felucia. The Cantina Asha walked in, a pretty girl bearing a small bag on her shoulder, looking around and trying to keep the nervousness off her face. The truth was, cantinas scared her. All the drunken men, the smugglers with their legs on the tables and the refugees hiding beneath masks and cloaks. Taking a deep breath, she went for the counter and struck up a conversation with the Chiss man there. When she asked if there were any pilots around, he laughed a deep laugh. "If you're lookin' for a pilot, I'll be your man," he said. "How much you got to pay?" Asha reached into her bag and dumped out her allowance, watching the Chiss suspiciously to see if he would pocket anything. "Pocket anything and you'll get a mouthful of fist," she said threatfully. The Chiss laughed again. "A fiesty one, aren't you, you precious thing?" he said. "Shut up," Asha said. "Is this enough?" The Chiss stroked his chin and counted it twice. "Aye, that being enough," he said. "Well, meet me at my ship in ten minutes, then. Docking bay 55." "Fifty-five," muttered Asha. "You got yourself a deal." She stood up to leave, but he grabbed her by the wrist. "A couple more things I be needing," he said. "First, where is it you be headed?" Asha pondered a little. "Where do you plan on going next?" she asked. "I be headed to Carlac to pick up my cargo," he said. "Carlac it is, then," she said. "Second," he said. "You got a name, missy?" "Asha," she said. "Asha Drexel." "Asha..."he said. "Pretty name." Asha watched him carefully. "I don't suppose? ''you'd have a name," she said finally. "Aye, that I would," the Chiss said. "I be Raavek. Raavek Zandi." Heading to Carlac Asha met Raavek in docking bay fifty-five ten minutes later and gazed up at his ship. It was obviously well-kept and cared for. Raavek was conversing with an ewok with brown fur and white stripes and black eyes that blinked slowly. She walked up to them and Raavek introduced the ewok as Widget. Widget apparently understood Basic and although he couldn't talk himself in Basic, he occasionally communicated with sign-language. But Asha, when she was younger, loved ewoks and thought they were adorable, took Ewokese lessons and remembered most of what her mother taught her. Together, the odd combination of the Chiss Raavek, the ewok Widget, and the red-haired girl Asha, they headed to Carlac. It all went peacefully until they landed and were "ambushed" by some trees that Raavek thought were trying to kill him. The trees had pink leaves and white trunks, and Asha loved them. She draped her fingers against the cool bark as they trudged through the snow. Raavek had lended her a jacket with a furry hood, and she didn't feel the cold